11 Mayıs 2016 Çarşamba

80 BİNDE DEVR-İ ALEM PARK

“The beauty of one's words comes
from the attentiveness and empathy of the listener.” Rumi.

Konya, one of UNESCO’s World
Heritage sites, has been the haunt of dervishes and pilgrims throughout
history. Once the capital city of Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, Konya is now a
modest town. It has a cozy and welcoming feel and is well known for its local cuisine.

You may have visited or read about
this distinguished city many times. Along with its connection to Rumi, Konya is
famous for the historical remains of the Seljuk Sultanate, Alaeddin Hill, the
Konevi Mausoleum, the Meram Vineyards, the scenery from Akyokuş, and its quick
bread with ground meat. Konya is easily accessible with Turkish Airlines.

In addition to all of this, I would
like to share Konya’s newest attraction with you; the 80 Binde
Devr-i Âlem Park. Inspired by the Jules Verne novel ‘Around the
world in 80 days,’ the park covers 80 thousand square meters, hence the name
‘Around the world in 80 thousand’. It's a fantastic place housing everything
from Turkish Islamic works of art like the Taj Mahal, to historical figures
like Suleyman Shah; you can even find the super heroes of your childhood. You
will come across miniatures and displays of just about every piece of art, and
historical or famous character you could imagine.

Situated over 80 thousand square meters,
the park is composed of three main parts: “The Cotton Candy” area,
which is home to fairytale characters, the “T-Rex,” area,
which is the residence of dinosaurs, and the “Cihan-ı
Türk” area, where you will find everything you can imagine in
miniature.

In the “Cotton
Candy” area you will find characters from fairy tales and
popular Turkish movies like Hababam Sınıfı. Along with animations, there are
busts of famous comedians and Turkish historical figures. The ‘Tree of Fairy
Tales’, a favorite with children, and the 51 meter long Ottoman galley can also
be found in this area. Once you’ve had a good look around, you can have your
photo taken with Superman and the Hulk, play around with Smurfs, get tangled in
Rapunzel's hair, wave at the cute characters from the Ice Age film, and
recharge your batteries with refreshments from the Ottoman galley cafe.

The “T-Rex” area
houses all kinds of dinosaurs from babies to 10 meter long adults, from
herbivores to the carnivores. The dinosaurs move and have sound effects.
Although the experience was really exciting, I have to admit, at times I was a
little scared!

In the Cihan-ı
Turk area are the miniature displays. There are 120 pieces of
art work representing our historical and cultural heritage; I found this area
really interesting. There are also information kiosks which offer information
on the displays in 6 different languages.

The entrance fee to this unique
attraction is only 5 TL:

If you have visited MiniaTurk in
İstanbul and liked it, you should definitely add 80 Binde
Devr-i Âlem Park to your list of places to see. If you’ve
already planned a trip to Konya, don’t leave without seeing this park where
fantasy and adventure meet.